This disclosure relates to active materials based approaches to achieving latch snug-down and articles containing the same.
In many vehicles, the process of closing a suspended body (e.g. door, hatch, hood or the like) takes place in two steps. The first step involves establishing a mechanical “interlock” between the suspended body and the supporting body (e.g., vehicle frame). This interlock ensures that suspended body cannot be separated from the body unintentionally.
As can be seen in the FIG. 1, in an exemplary vehicle enclosure 10 the process of interlocking the suspended body 12 to the supporting body 14 generally takes the form of a striker 16 engaging a rotary latch 18. The interlock during this first step is generally designed to require low to moderate user effort.
As depicted in the FIG. 2, the second step in the closing process involves drawing the suspended body 12 closer towards the supporting body 14 against the resistance offered by the seals 20 interposed between the suspended body 12 and the supporting body 14. This step is known as a “latch snug-down” and is usually assisted and/or accomplished by an actuator or motor (not shown). The seals 20 get compressed during snug-down, thereby enhancing the sealing action. A better sealing action ensures that the communication of undesirable factors (e.g., wind noise, elements of the weather, dust, or the like) to the vehicle interior is attenuated, thus leading to a higher perceived quality of vehicle performance.
The two step closing process is used to eliminate the trade-off imposed on closure (e.g. door, hatch, trunk, etc.) design by the competing objectives of reducing the closing effort and achieving good sealing.